Valley Tech 27, Assabet 20: Borrowed formula pays off

All season long, Valley Tech relied on a multi-dimensional offensive attack to overwhelm opponents. Facing Assabet - last year’s Division 6 Super Bowl runner-up - on Tuesday night, the Beavers didn't resemble the explosive juggernaut that pounded the Aztecs in a 34-12 win back in October. Instead, they used a strong running game to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit and win.

By Eric Young/Daily News correspondent

Milford Daily News

By Eric Young/Daily News correspondent

Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 28, 2012 at 6:20 AM

By Eric Young/Daily News correspondent

Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 28, 2012 at 6:20 AM

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All season long, Valley Tech relied on a multi-dimensional offensive attack to overwhelm opponents.

Facing Assabet - last year’s Division 6 Super Bowl runner-up - on Tuesday night, the Beavers didn't resemble the explosive juggernaut that pounded the Aztecs in a 34-12 win back in October.

After falling behind by 13 points at halftime, Valley Tech ironically found a winning formula that resembled Assabet’s strategy in the first half – a strong running game and stout defense.

On the efforts of two touchdown runs by sophomore Benjamin Reiffarth and a spectacular 77-yard scoring run by senior captain Taylor Hanson, the Beavers scored 20 unanswered second-half points to beat Assabet 27-20 and advance to the Division 6 Super Bowl on Saturday.

"I told the guys at halftime there’s 20 minutes left in your season and it’s up to you if you want to continue playing past tonight," Valley Tech coach Jim Archibald said. "The second half wasn’t going to be about execution as much as it was about toughness, and I laid the challenge to the defense. We have some determined seniors. This is a tough group of kids, and they stepped up and played physical and it was a great win for this team."

"We knew Assabet was a good team, but we didn’t expect to be down 13 points at halftime," senior wideout Shawn Wilkins said. "We have a lot of seniors and we talked at halftime about what we needed to do as a team and we competed harder, we tackled better defensively, and made the plays we needed to offensively to win."

Valley Tech’s defense limited the Aztecs to just 47 total yards over the final 20 minutes, while the offense found its rhythm on the ground.

Reiffarth capped a 10-play drive with a 16-yard scoring run to cut the deficit to 20-14 late in the third quarter.

On the Beavers. next play from scrimmage to open the fourth quarter, Hanson raced 77 yards for the game tying touchdown.

"The line did a great job of opening up a hole for me, and once I broke the first tackle I ran as hard as I could to get into the end zone and it felt great once I got there," Hanson recalled.

After a stagnant possession that left Assabet facing a fourth-and-6 from its own 23 yard line, the Aztecs chose to gamble, setting up in punt formation but snapping directly to quarterback Kyle Fernandes.

But the Beavers weren't fooled by the fake, stuffing Fernandes at the line for no gain and taking over on downs.

Three plays later, Reiffarth barrelled in from 12 yards out for the game-winner.

It was a reversal of roles after a first half that saw Assabet the more effective team.

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Assabet running back Paul Harpin, who ran for 233 yards, punished the Valley Tech defense during the first half. He opened the scoring with a 51-yard touchdown run just three minutes into the game.

The Beavers responded on their opening possession as Hanson reached the end zone from 3 yards out, making the score 7-6.

But Harpin, who gained over 1,500 yards during the season, gashed the Beavers’ defense for a 40-yard touchdown run to push the lead up to 14-6 at the conclusion of the opening quarter.

"He’s a tough runner and he was a force out there for us tonight," Assabet coach Rob McCann said. "We definitely wanted to establish the run and use as much of the clock. Paul did an outstanding of hitting the holes hard and finishing off each run. Our line did a great job."

When Assabet got the ball for the third time, it again chewed up the clock, eating up over 10 minutes. Harpin punctutaed the drive by scoring his third touchdown, this one from 3 yards out.

Harpin nearly added a fourth score in the first half when he broke free for a 67-yard run, but a Hanson tackle from behind prevented a touchdown. The play proved crucial for Valley Tech, as Assabet eventually turned the ball over on downs.

"That was a turning point for us," said McCann. "We didn’t take advantage of that opportunity to put more points on the board, and you hate to do that against a team like (Valley Tech)."